A Darker Shade of Grey
by denise1
Summary: An AU ending to Shades of Grey, what if Sam had been a bit more curious and Thor a little late.


A Darker Shade of Gray

By

Denise

Sam sighed as she stepped into her lab, reaching out to flick on the lights without looking. She made her way over to her work bench and set down her mug of coffee as she pulled out her stool.

Hell of a day was the phrase that came to mind. She and the rest of SG-1 came back from their first mission with their new CO and the only way Sam could describe it was….well no one had died.

She never realized the advantages they had in being one of the few teams with all their original members. She hadn't had to break in a new CO, they'd all broke each other in. They made mistakes together. Learned together. Found their place together. There had been no 'me boss' moments. No one had been put in their place. They all found their places together. They found their way together. And in finding their way as a team, it seemed to have made them stronger as a team.

They knew each other. Knew when one was joking or kidding. Knew when someone was hurting or when they were having a bad day. They could communicate with just a look or the tone of their voice.

They trusted each other, without fail, without question.

But that was different now.

Colonel O'Neill had shattered that trust with his sudden onset of kleptomania and then took off to Edora to play pilgrim and left the rest of them behind to pick up the pieces.

And pick them up they would. They didn't have a choice. They either found a way to get along or, she was sure, the three of them would be broken up and reassigned to other teams and she didn't want to go there.

It had to work. They had to find a way to make it work. And it wasn't just a way to make Colonel Makepeace get along with them, they needed to get along with him. No matter how painful that may be.

Maybe if they'd gotten off on a better foot. Maybe if he hadn't over heard Daniel's outspoken protests about Sam not getting command. Maybe he wouldn't feel the need to play the hardass card.

At least Teal'c had kept his mouth shut. Of course, any feelings he had about Colonel Makepeace surely paled in regards to how he'd felt about Apophis for the better part of a century. Teal'c wouldn't say anything. He'd glare and tolerate. At least until he was pushed too far and decided things weren't worth tolerating anymore and he'd find another team, or more likely, leave Earth and take his chances out in the universe.

And her, well her issues with the colonel were not going to go away and would probably result in her swallowing her pride and groveling. Or at least giving a good impression of grovel.

For the first time in a long time she could honestly say she wasn't looking forward to their next mission. If it wouldn't be defined as running away from the problem she'd take some vacation time and avoid the whole mess. Which would not make it go away, in fact leaving Colonel Makepeace alone with Daniel and Teal'c and a replacement would probably make matters far, far worse than they stood now.

She caught sight of an envelope setting on her work bench and picked it up. She opened it and pulled out a hand written note.

Report to conference room 2301 at 1800. GH

"Crap," she muttered, glancing at her watch. She was already late.

She hurried down the hall, barely taking time to register the strangeness of the note. Usually a summons from the general came in the form of a phone call, or perhaps an appointment made by Walter. And she wasn't familiar with ever meeting with him outside of his office.

But when your commanding officer said to meet, you met.

She bypassed the elevators and dashed up the stairs, well aware that she'd likely be out of breath but was willing to deal with that to save a few minutes. Arriving outside the conference room door, she paused, taking a quick breath before opening the door. "Sir, I apologize for being late," she said as she stepped over the threshold.

"At ease. Major. Close the door and please have a seat," he said, gesturing across the table. There was no one else in the small conference room. Sam did as she was told. He took a breath and crossed his hands on the tabletop. "This meeting is not taking place," he said. "It is not on my calendar, it is not on yours. Everything said here is off the record."

"Ok," she said slowly.

"Major, I would like to talk to you about your mission today. And I would like to discuss your opinion about Colonel Makepeace's actions during the course of that mission," he said.

"Umm, sir, I…"

"I am not asking a second in command to dish the dirt on her new commanding officer," he interrupted. "I am asking a member of this command to give me her opinion on the performance of a fellow officer," he said.

"General, with all due respect, I really don't feel right about this," she said, only her implicit trust in the man keeping her from feeling like she was in a trap. "Colonel Makepeace is an experienced officer and—"

"Not as experienced as you are," he interrupted. "The colonel may be one of this facility's more experienced commanders, but you and SG-1 have far more missions under your belt and time through the gate than he does. Not to mention, to this point, his role at this facility being far different from that of the leader of the primary first contact team." He sighed. "Major, I would like your candid and honest opinion of how well Colonel Makepeace is fitting in," he said.

She took a deep breath and quickly tried to find a way to phrase her words. "I think, General…we all respect SG-3. They've saved our lives more times that I can count…but…I think Colonel Makepeace is used to a team with more of a common ground than we have," she said. "Everyone going through the same basic training," she clarified at his look. "Or…any basic training for that matter."

 _She stepped through the gate and took a deep breath, relieved when the air smelled very earth like. Just like she expected. Their mission today was going to be far from a thrilling one. In fact, if Colonel O'Neill were here, he'd be complaining about the boredom associated with a secondary survey mission._

 _Then again if Colonel O'Neill was here they wouldn't be on a secondary survey mission._

 _A flash of movement caught her eye and she glanced over at the reason for their milk run._

 _"All right you mutts, standard recon position," Colonel Makepeace ordered, stepping away from the gate._

 _She glanced over at Daniel and Teal'c, shaking her head slightly. She didn't know what he was talking about either. "Umm, sir. Excuse me but we're not familiar with that," she said._

 _Makepeace turned back to face them, an annoyed frown on his face. "What exactly are you not familiar with, Major?" he asked._

 _"Your definition of standard recon, sir," she said, doing her best to tread lightly._

 _"Don't they teach you flyboys anything in basic?" he asked._

 _"Well, I don't know what they taught Sam, but Teal'c and I never went to basic," Daniel said stepping forward. Sam hid a grimace. He needed to stay out of the fray. Let her handle Makepeace. At least until they got to know each other better._

 _Makepeace glared at Daniel, clearly annoyed. "You would do well, Jackson, to not remind me of that fact," Makepeace ordered. "Maybe if you three had a bit more discipline my team wouldn't have spent so much time bailing your asses out," he growled. "Carter is on point, you and the Jaffa in the middle, I'll bring up the rear."_

Hammond nodded. "How is the colonel and Doctor Jackson getting along?"

 _"Are all your missions like this?" Colonel Makepeace asked, slowly walking around the tumbled and overgrown ruins._

 _Sam glanced at the colonel but didn't respond. There was something about the man that had her holding her tongue. Daniel, however, didn't seem to feel the same way._

 _"Well, usually we explore first," he said, glancing up from where he was knelt by some of the carved stones. "But SG-7 thought these merited a second look."_

 _"Yeah, just a thrill a minute," the colonel said, not bothering to hide his distain as his fingers drummed on the butt of his weapon. Teal'c stood a few yards away, his eyes scanning the horizon._

 _Daniel bristled and stood up. Sam glanced over at Teal'c and shook her head just a fraction of an inch, hoping to communicate to him to stay out of the impending argument._

 _"This may seem boring but, we know that the goa'uld took people from Earth thousands of years ago," Daniel said, settling into full lecture mode. "They seeded potentially thousands of planets."_

 _"Yeah, and what's that got to do with the price of tea in China?" Makepeace asked, turning to face Daniel._

 _"Earth's development was affected by the Dark Ages. People on other planets that didn't experience it, who knows how far they advanced in the same period of time," he said._

 _"Obviously not very far," Makepeace said, gesturing at the deserted ruins._

 _Daniel shrugged. "Maybe not here," he said. "But we know that the goa'uld impersonate various gods. If we know the origin of a planet's inhabitants, we can make an educated guess about which goa'uld took them and when."_

 _"Fascinating," Makepeace drawled, not even disguising his sarcasm. "SG-1 is a first contact team with standing orders to find resources to defend Earth. You're here to translate. O'Neill may have tolerated your little side trips, but I won't. You want to spend days poking around ruins, you may want to consider SG-11. I hear their CO loves taking naps in the sun."_

 _Daniel stared for a second and glanced over at Sam, fortunately understanding her silent request to just shut up and let it go. "Can I finish or do you want to leave now?" he asked Makepeace, his tone just barely respectful._

 _Colonel Makepeace shook his head. "We're not due back for another hour," he said. "I'm sure the Jaffa can watch your back. Carter and I will walk the perimeter. You have half an hour to finish up before we go back."_

"Colonel O'Neill and Daniel…they had Abydos. And there's something there… I don't know if either of them really understand it, but…I don't think Daniel really appreciated how much latitude and understanding he gets…got from Colonel O'Neill."

Hammond nodded. "And Teal'c?"

"Colonel Makepeace won't even speak to him," she said, unable to hide her ire and anger at her friend's treatment. "I understand that SG-3…we get into trouble and they bail us out of trouble. The colonel has probably had more negative experiences and lost more team mates to Jaffa than anyone but…Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c had this brothers in arms thing going on. They respected each other and trusted each other. And sometimes I think Teal'c tolerated a lot from the colonel but…there is no respect from Colonel Makepeace. He wouldn't talk to Teal'c, wouldn't even address him by name, he just called him 'the Jaffa'," she said, the man's words angering her even hours later. She sighed. "Honestly, sir, I think the only thing keeping Teal'c here right now is his loyalty to Daniel and me. But, there's only so much he can take. And only so much we'd want him to take."

"What about you?"

 _Colonel Makepeace walked in front of her and Sam sighed silently when she needed to quicken her stride to catch up with him. She wished she was surprised by his actions but she found them boringly predictable._

 _She called it a 'mine is bigger' trick. Colonel Makepeace was deliberately walking faster, forcing her to pick up the pace and walk faster than was natural for her. It was a classic 'staking territory' move, and she had to admit, more civilized than an animal's desire to pee to mark territory. But it still didn't mean that she liked it. Or liked the image that the game brought with it._

 _Consciously or not, he was telling her 'I'm in charge'._

 _Oh well, it wasn't a new game, and with everything like this he did, her new CO just confirmed her suspicions. In some ways, she shouldn't be surprised. As much as she liked to think the Air Force was enlightened, there were still plenty of 'old guard' officers. And the Marines, well they were in a class all their own. Despite their rocky start, she knew that she'd been very lucky with Colonel O'Neill._

 _"So, Carter," he turned back and waited for her to catch up. "Tell me about the rest of the team," he requested._

 _"Sir?"_

 _"Is Jackson always like that?" he asked._

 _"Like what, sir?" He cocked his head and glared at her, as if to say 'you're not that stupid'. "Daniel can get very passionate about things," she finally admitted. "Sir, I know that in depth study is SG-11's main mission, but sometimes knowing the culture gives us a clue to the language and customs of any indigenous people we come across." She shrugged. "It can be helpful."_

 _"Major, the only language I'm interested in is whether our weapons are better than theirs," he said. "And if theirs are better, can we get some."_

 _"Colonel, with respect, if Daniel can talk to the locals we don't usually need to use our weapons," she said. "It's easier to make friends if there hasn't been any bloodshed."_

 _"And how many times did SG-3 have to come and bail your ass out when you failed to make friends?" he asked._

 _"More than once," she admitted. "But there were also plenty of times when we succeeded in our mission. We made allies and brought new items back."_

 _"Yeah, allies that come to us for help and not a single weapon that's worked," he said. "It seems if we're not bailing out various aliens, we're spending hundreds of man hours relocating them to greener pastures, and all we get out of it is paperwork."_

 _"Yes, sir," she muttered, keeping her voice even. She was not going to engage him. It simply was not worth it. Not to mention that arguing with him could backfire. After three years, she knew how much latitude and leeway she had with Colonel O'Neil. She didn't have that same knowledge with Colonel Makepeace. Before she tested the boundaries, she needed to find out just where they were and how hard he'd pull her back. And his boundaries definitely seemed to be different from Colonel O'Neill's._

 _He sighed and narrowed his eyes. "I think we need to lay some ground rules," he said._

 _"Sir?" Finally, what she'd been expecting. And just how she expected it, off world and alone, where it was just her and him. Her word against his._

 _"I'm in charge, you're not," he said simply. "I don't care what your arrangement with O'Neill was. I don't care how he did things. Our mission is to find tech and weapons to defend against the goa'uld. And that's what we're going to do," he declared. "I don't care about Jackson's rocks or Jaffa legends or Tok'ra mumbo jumbo. When I give an order, I expect it to be followed. Not creatively interpreted." He paused for a second and stared her down. "And when I tell you to go blow something up, you go blow something up, you don't go off on half baked rescue missions."_

 _There it was, the grudge that she knew he'd been holding since SG-3 had rescued them from Hathor's clutches. She remembered the briefing after their rescue. How he'd latched onto her timeline for rescuing Colonel O'Neill and then rigging the explosives for the generator. She'd sensed his displeasure, but she didn't think anyone else had. There were so many things going on at the time, not just SG-1 coming back from the dead—again – but Teal'c returning to the SGC, General Hammond's off world foray, scavenging and securing the planet before the Tok'ra came for their share, not to mention Colonel O'Neill getting the symbiote, and its subsequent death. His rancor had been easy to ignore. And since he wasn't her CO, she knew between General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill, she really had nothing to worry about…..until now. "Sir—"_

 _"No," he interrupted. "Don't tell me that O'Neill was fine with it. Of course he was fine with it. And Hammond's been sitting behind a desk for too many decades to have a clear grasp on the BS you pulled." He took a step forward, forcing her to step back. "You damn near screwed the pooch and almost got me, my men and three other teams dead. I won't tolerate that. You will follow my orders to the letter and you will make sure your two pet civilians do the same. We WILL find weapons and tech to defend Earth. And anyone on this team that can't or won't follow those standing orders is welcome to transfer."_

"Sir, you remember Hathor's palace and all of that?" she asked.

"Of course."

"Before you and Teal'c came through with the glider, I went back into the facility to blow the shield generators. And along the way I found Colonel O'Neill and rescued him and then both of us blew the generator."

"I remember," he said.

"I don't regret anything I did. And if I were to do it again I'd do the same thing," she said. "But as far as Colonel Makepeace is concerned, I should have rigged the generator first, then went to rescue Colonel O'Neill. Or not bothered with Colonel O'Neill at all and focus only on blowing the generators and getting back to the gate for evac. He had already declared him a casualty and I should have respected that."

General Hammond shrugged. "I've found that it's easy to reconsider options after the fact," he said. "I also don't think it's possible to know exactly what a person will do until they are in that position."

"I don't think Colonel Makepeace and I will ever see eye to eye on my actions that day," she said. "It's something that we'll either have to work out or agree to disagree on," she said.

"Has Colonel Makepeace voice his preference?"

"Beyond him being right and me wrong? Not specifically," she said. "But it's obviously something he feels very strongly about."

"Very well," Hammond said. "Anything else you'd like to add?"

 _After his little 'chat', Sam and Makepeace walked silently back to the others. He still walked faster than she was comfortable walking, but she didn't try to keep up at his side, settling for walking a few feet back. She'd always suspected he didn't agree with her actions on Hathor's planet, but suspecting and having it confirmed were two different things._

 _Maybe this would be the end of it. He'd gotten his ire out of his system and maybe he'd let it go. Or maybe not. He didn't strike her as the forgiving type. Regardless, it was something she'd have to work out. She'd have to figure out if he wanted an apology, or if he was going to let it go. Or if she was willing to apologize to him. She honestly didn't think she had anything to apologize for. Her cynical side reminded her that, had it been him trapped in a cryotube with a dead goa'uld, Makepeace wouldn't have found her side trip so horrible._

 _Rescuing Colonel O'Neill hadn't been what she'd set out to do, but she'd do it again. She didn't think he, or Makepeace realized, when she'd set off through the tunnels, she hadn't known about the Tok'ra, not beyond Makepeace's off handed comment that there was one. She didn't know that Raleigh had placed Colonel O'Neill in the cryotube and that Hathor's goa'uld was dying inside her commanding officer._

 _Her thoughts had been what she would do if she encountered him, and the dark, final, decision she'd have to make if she did. Raleigh's actions spared her having to make that choice. It was a debt she'd never repay. And her relief only cemented in her mind that she had made the right choice. Makepeace could hate it all he wanted._

 _"Those two better be ready to go," he said, barely glancing back at her. He rolled his wrist to look at his watch. "We are due back in less than thirty."_

 _"I'm sure they will be, sir," she said._

 _"At least this rock is uninhabited," he said, seeming to get chatty after his little laying down of the law. "I don't have to worry about Jackson trying to make nice with some damn aliens."_

"Sir, we're a first contact team. That's probably why we get into trouble so often. We talk first and only shoot if we have to." She shrugged. "It's kinda hard to make friends with blood on your hands. But Colonel Makepeace… going by how he's talked, his focus seems to be on acquiring weapons and tech, not relationships. He seems to view every alien as a potential threat. Which only makes sense given his team's…his former team's history. But…sir, I'm actually really glad that the planet was uninhabited," she confessed.

He nodded. "Major, I'd like to thank you for your candor and honesty. Along with your discretion."

"Yes, sir."

"At this point in time, I'm inclined to keep SG-1 out of the main mission rotation," he said. "I think, given your concerns, it may be beneficial to give the team more time to gel."

"Thank you, sir."

"I would also ask, no, actually I would order you, if you have any concerns about the team's actions or attitudes, that may adversely affect the team or this command, to bring those concerns to me with all practical haste."

"Yes, sir."

Three days later Sam and the rest of SG-1 walked back through the gate almost feeling like her misgivings were back on the planet. Over all, Colonel Hard Ass hadn't joined them this time. Maybe he'd gotten it out of his system? Or maybe he was one of those men that blustered and postured, then calmed down later? Or maybe their previous mission had just happened on a bad day? Whatever it was, she was more than a little relieved to find him much calmer and almost friendly.

"The briefing for this absolutely thrilling mission is at 0900 tomorrow," he said, looking over his shoulder as they handed their weapons over to the weapons officer.

"Yes, sir," Sam answered automatically as she caught sight of General Hammond up in the control room. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I need to check on something in the control room." Makepeace nodded and Sam left the gateroom and climbed the stairs into the control room. "General," she acknowledged.

"Major, Sargent Siler will want to coordinate some diagnostics with you," he said.

"Of course," she replied. "It'll be a nice break after a very unremarkable mission," she said, hoping he caught her double meaning.

"I'm glad to hear that," he replied. "As you were."

"Yes, sir."

She left the room and made her way to the elevators. The car arrived quickly and she punched the button for the locker room level. She knew since the guys had gone first, they would shower then clear medical. She, following her team's long standing tradition, would do just the opposite. It was a pattern they settled into years ago, something that allowed each gender their moments of privacy.

But, before she went to the infirmary, she did need to stop by the gear up room and retrieve her keycard for her lab. She had no qualms walking in on the guys, they were expecting her. She used to take the card off world, however it hadn't taken her – and everyone else –long to realize that you never took anything off world you didn't want to lose. After having to sign off on her getting a new one for the fifth time in as many weeks, Colonel O'Neill had suggested she simply secure her card in a small locker in the gear up room.

It was something they all did and all understood. If she got the showers first, she knew the guys would be in to get their cards and vice versa. One of those many compromises necessary for a mixed gender team.

She opened the door and walked into the gear up room, belatedly catching sight of Colonel Makepeace standing in front of his locker. He startled and quickly shoved something into his locker as he spun around. "Carter! What the hell?" She stared at him for a second, her eyes going to the item, its smooth and glossy surface visible under a rough fabric it was wrapped in. "Carter?

"I'm sorry, sir," she said, dragging her eyes away. "I just need to get my keycard to my lab. I thought Daniel or Teal'c would have told you. It's a system we have."

"I think we need to reassess this system," he said, standing in front of his locker. "I can't say I'm comfortable with you walking in."

"Sure, sir," she said, something about his demeanor striking her as odd. "We just started doing this because, well, aliens have a bad habit of taking our stuff. And then the paperwork every time someone lost a card…well, it got a little ridiculous after a while. The locker is the only secure place to leave things. I'll be out of here in just a second," she rambled, hurrying to spin the combination on the lock.

The lock opened and she reached in, pulling out the card. "I'm sorry, Colonel," she said, closing the locker. "I thought the guys would have told you. When it's my turn to go first, they do the same thing." She stood up as he continued to stand there, almost like he was guarding the locker. "I'll get out of here."

She hurried from the room and paused just outside the door, pushing her hand through her hair as she sighed. "Yeah, real smooth," she muttered. She started down the hall, thinking about the colonel's odd behavior. What was he hiding? Which seemed to be an odd term to use, but that was how he was acting, like he was hiding something. Like he was afraid she'd see whatever that was.

Like last week when she'd walked in on Cassie and caught the girl reading a racy romance novel. Struggling to look nonchalant as she awkwardly held the book behind her back.

Something wasn't right. She couldn't explain it, but it just wasn't right. She stopped and turned back, General Hammond's words echoing through her brain. She had to know.

She made her way back to the gear up room, mentally calculating the time. Teal'c was probably showering in his quarters so that left just Daniel and Makepeace. Neither of whom was likely to linger, so she figured she had a few minutes at the most.

"Plenty of time," she muttered to herself. All she needed to do was slip in and see what he was hiding. It'd just take a few seconds for her to find out she was wrong and seeing things. That's probably what it was, her imagination running away with her. The general's request had her seeing things that weren't there. It was just a misunderstanding, she told herself as she cracked open the door. Hearing running water, she tiptoed into the room and stood in front of his locker. She carefully explored, her attention torn between listening for the water and trying not to mess anything up so that he would notice.

There was nothing of note on the top shelf so she gingerly pushed the hanging clothes aside, revealing a pile of clothing in the back corner. She pushed against it, her heart racing when she encountered something hard.

She pulled it out, carefully unwrapping it. It was about the size of a trade paperback book and seemed astonishingly light for its size. The surface was a smooth opaque white substance, ringed with red and she stared, not quite believing her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She spun, staring at Colonel Makepeace as he stood in the doorway to the showers. He was wearing his pants and a t-shirt, his feet bare.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, holding up the item.

"You still haven't answered my question, Major," he said, accentuating the title. "What are you doing in here? Or is voyeurism another little SG-1 quirk I don't know about?"

"This is Asgard," she said, ignoring his baiting. "What are you doing with an Asgard device?"

"Sam?" Daniel joined them, pulling down his t-shirt as he stood there. "What's going on?"

"This was in his locker," she said, holding up the device.

"I've never seen that before in my life," Makepeace said.

"I saw you put it in your locker and I just pulled it out of there," she said.

"Sam?" Daniel looked between the two of them.

"Daniel, this is tech. Everything that we bring back crosses my desk. If this was brought back on a mission I would know about it. I've never seen it before."

"So you say," Makepeace said. He turned to Daniel. "So, Jackson, are you in on this too or was the tech smuggling something that she and O'Neill did on their own?"

Daniel shook his head. "I—"

"Don't listen to him, Daniel," Sam said. "This is Asgard, even if we saw it on a planet, we'd know better than to bring it back. This probably came from an Asgard protected planet."

Realizing that further conversation was going to go nowhere, she turned towards the door. "Where are you going?" Makepeace demanded, moving to intercept her.

"To get to the bottom of this," she said. She needed to get to Hammond. Whatever was going on he'd either explain it or he needed to know about it.

"You are not!" Makepeace declared, grabbing her arm.

"Hey!" Daniel protested. "Let her go!"

"Let me go," Sam ordered, pulling her arm free.

"This is insubordination, Major," he threatened, his voice echoing off the walls.

"I don't think so," she said, holding up the device. "I think this is something much bigger."

She opened the door and he slammed it shut. "You leave this room and your career is over," he said, staring her down.

"I'll take the chance," she said, her voice cold. She prepared herself to have to use force. She didn't want to, and honestly didn't even know if she could take him. For a second, she regretted that Teal'c wasn't here. She could count on him for some muscle. Daniel would help, but it might be better if he didn't. Regardless of how this turned out, either she or Makepeace would be off SG-1. And if she was wrong and jumping to the wrong conclusion she'd be lucky if she remained at the SGC.

He stared at her for a few seconds, then stepped back. "Hope you like orange jumpsuits," he said.

She opened the door and stepped out, stopping short at the sight of General Hammond flanked by two SFs. "General—"

"Major."

"Sir, I found this is Colonel Makepeace's locker," she hurried to explain, holding up the item.

"More like planted it in my locker," Makepeace said, joining them.

"I saw this earlier when I came in to get my keycard," she said. "He shoved it into his locker like he was trying to hide it."

"Obviously she and O'Neill are in cahoots," Makepeace said, crossing his arms. "Hell, she's probably trying to frame me so she can go right back to stealing tech." He turned to face her. "You said it yourself, that you see everything that comes through here. How better to get access to frame me and sell a few things to the highest bidder."

"I am not," she ground out. "Daniel?"

"Doctor Jackson, can you shed any light on this situation," General Hammond asked.

"I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't see anything," he shrugged.

"I suppose I should consider myself lucky they just tried to frame me instead of a little accident off world," Makepeace accused. "For all I know the two of them are in on it together. They get rid of me they can go back to using the gate at their own private plaything. They probably have their pet Jaffa telling them where to find stuff."

Sam shook her head. "General, this is Asgard. We don't bring back anything Asgard." She handed him the device.

He examined it and sighed. "I don't have time to deal with this right now." He turned to the SF on his right. "I want them both in the brig. Separate rooms. They speak to no one," he ordered.

"General," Sam protested as the SFs stepped forward.

"No one is above reproach, Major," he said. "Go quietly or I will have you restrained." He turned to Makepeace. "The same applies to you, Colonel."

George Hammond glanced up as two figures walked into his office. "Thank you, Sergeant," he said, turning his attention back to his laptop. One figure left and the other remained standing in front of his desk. He glanced at the clock in the corner of the computer screen and continued to read the report. Just a couple more minutes. He may the only person that knew his schedule, but it was a schedule he had to hold to.

He finished reading the report, forcing himself not to show his amusement as Major Carter fidgeted slightly, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Protocol demanded that she could not speak until he acknowledged her. And it was a protocol he was going to take advantage of. There'd be time to talk, when they were in a better place TO talk.

The clock clicked over and he closed his laptop, standing up as he picked up the confiscated piece of technology. He finally looked at his officer, feeling the smallest tinge of guilt at the look of trepidation on her face. A little bit of over observation and curiosity had opened a whole can of worms. Maybe he shouldn't have had that conversation with her a few days ago, let her think that she needed to be more circumspect and not question her new CO.

"Major, I can honestly say I am not looking forward to what is about to happen." She frowned but remained silent. As if on cue – and he refused to consider that someone had been listening in on him – there was a brilliant flash of light and he found himself in the very unfamiliar surroundings of an Asgard ship. "Tell me, Major, do you ever get used to this?" he asked, telling himself that the slightly queasy feeling in his stomach was his imagination.

"Haven't yet, sir," she replied with a slight smile.

A diminutive figure padded into the room. "General Hammond, Major Carter. Commander Thor sends his regrets, he is presently occupied but will join you shortly."

"Thank you," George said. He waited until the alien left them and turned to face Carter. "Within the past two weeks, both the Tollan and Asgard came to us with evidence that someone from Earth was stealing technology from them. They were going to sever all ties, but we managed to convince them that wasn't the SGC. We have to uncover and expose them if we want to keep our relations with the two groups." He held up the alien device. "You were never under suspicion for this. The evidence the Tollan and Asgard provided showed that some of the thefts occurred while Colonel O'Neill was trapped on Edora. You spent the time working on the particle accelerator and while Doctor Jackson and Teal'c did go on missions, they were so few and with other teams that it made it highly unlikely for them to be involved. However, as we work to root out the thieves, no one could be automatically excluded. While we hope to prove the guilt of some, we also need to prove the innocence of others."

She sighed and he saw her visibly relax. "So, what happened on Tollana, sir?"

George shook his head. "Colonel O'Neill stole exactly what they wanted him to steal. In fact, I'm reasonably sure if you were to have attempted to study that device you would have found it a non-functioning prop. We needed a good reason for him to retire and to have an attitude that we hoped would appeal to whomever was masterminding the thefts."

She nodded. "So he's not on Edora?"

"No. We couldn't risk any sort of communication. Him asking to go to Edora meant that he had been contacted by the thieves. He should be at their base, gathering information on where they are and who they are."

"He doesn't have any backup?" she asked.

"I believe that I am fulfilling that role," Thor said as he joined them. "General Hammond, Major Carter."

"Thor," George acknowledged. He held out the device in his hands. "I believe this is yours."

"Thank you," Thor acknowledged. "And our thanks to you, Major Carter, for revealing a component of the group that O'Neill feared would not be discovered."

"One element of the thefts that we weren't sure of was how the technology was getting back to Earth," George explained. "And, Thor, I regret to inform you that there was at least one member of the SGC involved."

"It is not unexpected," Thor said. "Since Earth lacks ships capable of interstellar travel and only one active Stargate at present, there were limited options for the technology to be taken to Earth. The Asgard recognize that the actions of one does not represent the actions of all."

George nodded. "Thank you. The suspect is already in custody and will face justice as soon as we return."

"I wonder, General Hammond, if there is another course of action?" Thor said.

"How do you mean?"

"One concern that O'Neill expressed was the identity of who was…I believe the phrase he used was 'pulling the strings'."

George looked to Carter. "He does have a point, sir. I doubt Colonel Makepeace is doing this on his own. Unless he was hiding something from us, I don't think he has the knowledge or resources to take full advantage of the tech."

"While O'Neill has identified the person that recruited him, he is unsure as to the identity of whom that person is answering to," Thor said.

"Thor, while we do want to catch these individuals, and they will be interrogated and thoroughly investigated, there is the very real possibility that we will never capture every single person that was involved," George said. "The most we can realistically expect is to stop the thefts and prosecute as many individuals as possible to prevent it from happening again."

Thor nodded. "The Asgard and Tollan recognize your efforts, however we do have the concern that if the instigator remains free, recent events may repeat in the future. The Asgard also have the concern that, in assisting us, if any of the thieves remain free, O'Neill's life may be in danger should they decide to retaliate."

"Colonel O'Neill is aware of the danger and has accepted the risk," George said. He turned to face Carter. "He feels the risk is worth it to preserve our alliances," he explained. Jack knew that he was putting a target on his back. Heck, they both were. George knew if any of his superiors were involved he'd likely face issues down the line as well.

"We are aware and we acknowledge his sacrifice," Thor said. "However Major Carter's discovery has offered an opportunity to assist O'Neill in his endeavors."

"I'm not sure what you mean, Thor," Sam said.

"As you may be aware, the Asgard have observed human behavior for some time," he said. "The High Council feels that if you were to release Colonel Makepeace, he will attempt to make contact with his superiors, revealing their identity."

George looked at Carter who shrugged. "He might, sir. Especially if he thinks I'm the guilty party. If I were in his shoes, I'd run. He already tried to implicate me by alleging that Colonel O'Neill and I are working together, and if he's been the mole all along, he knows that I'm innocent."

George shrugged. "Thor, you may be right in your assessment. However it's not that easy to surveil a person, especially someone with Colonel Makepeace's experience."

"I can provide assistance," Thor said. He held up the device. "We created these devices to assist the Tiernod in eluding the predators of their planet. It renders the Tiernod imperceptible to their potential attackers."

"I can see why they stole it," George heard Carter mutter.

"If we were to allow you to borrow this device, it could assist in your surveillance of Colonel Makepeace."

"That sounds very intriguing, Thor, but I don't think it will help much," George said.

"Thor, our legal system is very complicated," Carter said. "An eyewitness account doesn't matter that much. It can be easily discredited and dismissed. Especially an eyewitness account obtained using alien technology." She thought for a moment. "Thor, I don't suppose you can reprogram that thing?"

Thor blinked. "The device can also be programmed to record events happening in its vicinity. Would that be sufficient?"

Carter looked at him and he shrugged, allowing her the leeway to make a decision. If they did agree to Thor's proposal she would likely be the person using the technology. And, as far as he was concerned, that gave her the right to have some say in what they were about to agree to. "It might be," she said.

George didn't want to go into the details of illegal surveillance. Heck, the reality was that whoever was masterminding the situation would never face the justice system anyway. Carter turned to him.

"Sir, if you let Colonel Makepeace think you turned me over to the Asgard and let him go, I can wear the device and follow him." She turned to Thor. "Once we know or if something happens, can you beam me out?"

"Not immediately," Thor said. "Just as I received General Hammond's message I also received word that this device had been stolen. I was on my way to the rogue base when I diverted here."

"How far away is the planet?" Carter asked.

"Approximately one Earth hour by hyperspace."

"Once the Asgard knew the location of the base, their plan was to retrieve all technology. Colonel O'Neill would take that as his signal to dial Earth and force the rogues to return via the SGC," Hammond explained. "The Asgard were going to let us know just before they raid the base, so we know not to close the iris."

Carter nodded. "So, if Thor beams us down, you back to your office, me outside somewhere, then goes to the rogue base, that gives us about two hours for you to release the colonel and for him to hopefully leave the base," she said. "I can follow him and, if we're lucky, he'll meet his contact before they find out that the off world teams have been busted."

George sighed. "Major, are you certain you wish to do this?" he said. "You could be facing the same risks as Colonel O'Neill. Not just now, but potentially in the future."

She nodded. "I know, sir. If it will help finish the colonel's mission, I'm fine with it."

George turned to Thor. "Then I guess we better get this show on the road. The longer Colonel O'Neill stays undercover the greater the risk he'll be exposed."

Robert Makepeace laid on the bunk in the isolation room, doing his best to look as bored as possible. This whole mess was FUBAR in so many ways. He should have told his contact to wait when he'd

received the orders to retrieve the item. It was easy with SG-3. He knew his men and they knew him.

They trusted him to do whatever he did and if any of them had any questions, they knew enough to keep them to themselves.

SG-1 on the other hand, hell how did Jack deal with those misfits? All too damn nosey for their own good. If Jackson wasn't prattling on incessantly, that damn Jaffa was lurking over his shoulder like the kite eating tree from Charlie Brown. And Carter, damn nosy bitch. Obviously no one had taken the time to make sure she knew her place.

He wracked his brain to think if there was any evidence as to whom brought the device back, him or Carter. He'd kept it in his jacket the whole time, so no one should have seen it. In fact, if it hadn't have been for his own curiosity he wouldn't even know what the device looked like. And if Carter would have just kept her ass out of the gear up room, she would have seen nothing but a bundle of fabric….wait, he unwrapped it. That's when she saw it. Did he touch it? If his finger print was on the device then his goose was cooked. No, he didn't think so. He'd only used the cloth…hadn't he?

He heard a noise outside the door and he looked over, rolling to his feet when the door opened and General Hammond walked into the room. "Sir." He stood at attention even as he acknowledged it wasn't respect that drove the action. Hammond was his key out of this cell. And if he stood any hope of getting released, he needed to be on the old man's good side.

"As you were," Hammond said. Surprisingly the door behind him remained open. For a brief second, Robert considered making a break for it. But just a second. Guilty people ran. And he wasn't guilty. He was an innocent person caught up in someone else's mess, or at least that's what he needed the old man to believe.

"Colonel Makepeace, you are free to go, with my apologies," the general said.

"Sir? What about the thing?"

Hammond sighed. "Apparently the Asgard are capable of tracking their technology. Soon after you and Major Carter were locked up, an Asgard ship came and beamed her up, along with their stolen technology. I left Major Carter in the custody of the Asgard," he explained.

"General?"

Hammond shrugged. "Ultimately I have a treaty to consider," he said. "The fate of one officer can't stand in the way."

Robert struggled to keep his expression bland and puzzled. Hammond couldn't see that he was surprised. "I'm sorry about this whole mess, sir," he said, doing his best to play into the man's feelings. "I know her actions have to be a disappointment."

Hammond nodded. "I think, in light of recent events, you should take a couple of days," he said. "I have yet to tell the remaining members of SG-1 what's transpired this afternoon, and given their closeness, it may be better if you aren't on the base, at least until things calm down."

"If you think that's best, sir," Robert said.

"I do. Report back on Monday. If we're lucky this whole mess will be resolved by then," he ordered.

"Yes, sir, thank you sir."

Hammond left the room and Robert followed him, nodding to the SF's as he went the other direction. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He needed to get out of here and get out now.

Fighting the urge to hurry, he strolled to his office, doing his best to look casual as he removed his patches and retrieved his wallet and keys before he made his way to the surface. He got into his truck and drove away from the mountain, planning his next move as he drove.

He couldn't go back. His days at the SGC were over. Even if the Asgard accepted Carter as a scapegoat, the technology trade was too hot right now. He needed an escape route. And a little insurance to ease his way.

He glanced at the clock on his dash and made his decision in an instant. He was only an hour away from his dead drop. Normally, when he brought something back he dropped it at a pre-arranged location. He never saw his contact. Never wanted to. Until now.

He was under no illusion to his future. His little part time job didn't come with a retirement plan. That was something he'd need to arrange for himself. And he would, courtesy of the contents of an off shore bank account. Retrieving that would be his next stop. And hopefully last stop between him and the Mexican border.

But first he needed some leverage, some insurance in case things didn't work out. And the identity of his employer would be that leverage. He reached into his pocket and turned off his cell phone, fumbling a bit to remove the battery. He left the main road and navigated his way towards the fringes of Colorado Springs. Fortunately there were no shortage of nature trails around the city, which made the perfect place for a person to hike and drop something off unobserved.

He parked his truck down the road from the trail head and got out, taking a moment to gather a few things. He'd scouted the drop the first time he'd used it, noting hiding places and covers. They were places he'd looked at when he'd made drops, making sure that his actions were unobserved. And they were places he'd use now.

He shoved a few essentials into a pack and started on the trail. It was late afternoon so he knew there'd be just a few people to contend with. This one was a longer hike, so one people preferred to start early in the morning. Fortunately with the bases nearby and so many people using surplus stores, he knew no one would question him hiking in his BDUs.

It took him just a few minutes to reach his drop point. He put a bundle of cloth in a small niche behind some rocks and found a good hiding place. He sat behind a stand of scrub, knowing that his BDUs would help him blend in. He had no idea how long he'd have to sit here, but there was only a few hours of daylight left. And he doubted they'd let this tech sit out here all night.

He took a deep breath and relaxed as the normal sounds of the outdoors returned. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck and he turned, frowning when he saw nothing but dirt and rocks. He shook his head telling himself that he was just jumpy.

As the minutes rolled by he started to question his decision. Maybe this was stupid. He should be driving south. Mexico was just a few hours away. He could be there by morning. He sighed, tamping down his own impatience. He needed to play the game. And to do that he needed some leverage. A couple hours wouldn't make a difference. If the item wasn't picked up by nightfall, he'd just go. Cut his losses and drive through the night. No one was going to miss him. He wasn't expected back at the base for days and he had no family to notice, not anymore.

He thought he heard a shuffling sound and turned, shaking his head when he again saw nothing. "Too damn edgy," he muttered to himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone, which was stupid because there was no one around.

Footsteps crunched on the gravel and he turned his attention to the trail. He smothered a snort of derision as a familiar figure walked into view, looking ill at ease even in his civilian clothes. The man stopped, looking around before he made his way to the drop, clumsily nonchalant as he dug for and picked up the bundle of cloth. The look of puzzlement on the man's face was almost comical. "Guess you didn't get the memo," Robert said, stepping out of his hiding place.

Colonel Maybourne spun, his eyes wide and startled. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. He held up the piece of cloth. "And what's with this?"

Robert shrugged. "Guess you don't have your finger on the pulse of the SGC like you think you do," he said. "Carter got nosy," he said. "And our little grey friends came to get their stuff."

"What are you talking about?" Maybourne asked.

"Apparently they can track their tech. I got the old man to believe that Carter took it but….anyway, I'm gone. And you may want to consider doing the same." He stepped closer to Maybourne, only stopping when the man took a step back. "You're gonna forget who I am. Because if you implicate me, I can do the same to you." He stared at the man until he blinked then moved back. "Enjoy your hike," he said. He walked away from Maybourne, his only goal to get to his truck and on his way south.

A heavy force slammed into his back, driving him to the ground. He fell face down in the dirt, not feeling the small rocks that scratched his face as he struggled to breathe. A burst of pain warred with a horrible sense of heavy numbness. A rough hand rolled him over and he stared at the face of his murderer. "Do you know how I've survived this long," Maybourne said. "I don't waste my time threatening people." He raised his weapon. "And I don't leave witnesses."

Distant voices stilled his trigger finger and Harry cursed under his breath. This was getting way too messy. Far messier than he liked it. He glanced around, relieved to see no one, then bent over, grabbing the colonel's boots to drag him to the edge of a small ravine.

He shoved his weapon into the small of his back and knelt over the fallen man. He struggled with the dead weight and rolled the man over the edge, satisfied when he heard the dull thud of him landing at the bottom. He kicked dirt over the small pool of blood, then broke off a branch, using the leaves to brush out the signs of him dragging the body before throwing it the edge as well.

He made his way down the trail, deliberately slowing his pace so that if he did run into anyone, they'd just think he was a tired hiker finishing a long hike. He reached the end of the trail, grateful that he had rented a car using one of his false identities. When they found the body it would be one less thing to lead back to him.

He reached into his pocket for the remote and unlocked the car, pausing and looking over his shoulder when he thought he heard a sound. He turned back, only to spin again when he heard a rustle in the underbrush. Drawing his weapon, he slowly stepped towards the sound, pausing at the edge and peering into the brush. Seeing nothing, he turned back to his car and got in, casually making his way back onto the main road.

As he drove he ran the details through his mind. He barely touched Makepeace so it was doubtful he left behind any physical evidence. The ballistics on the bullet may be an issue, however the weapon wasn't the one officially registered to him, so unless they found it on his person, there'd be no link there, especially if he disposed of it.

The tire tracks could be something, but the sedan he rented was a common model and he was sure they were running factory tires, so nothing unique. He made a mental note to run the car through a car wash before he returned it and to wipe down the interior to remove any fingerprints. If he used the after hours drop no one would notice him driving up wearing gloves.

Just as he turned onto the main road, his burn phone rang and he jumped, answering the phone with one hand while the other stayed on the wheel. He knew who it would be. Only two people in the world had this number and he'd just shot one of them. "Yeah? What? When did this happen?" He abruptly cut the man off, hanging up as he reached a red light.

"God damn you, Jack, I never should have trusted you," he muttered, taking the back off the phone and ripping the battery out. The light changed and he drove forward, anger bubbling up as he drove. He should have known it was a set up. Someone like Jack O'Neill didn't turn such an about face so quickly. He was way too alien loving to all of a sudden start stealing from them.

He pounded the steering wheel in frustration. Ruined. It was all ruined. And unless he wanted to get up close and personal with Leavenworth, he needed to follow Makepeace's own idea and get out. No. Not yet. He had a bit more cleanup to do.

He changed lanes and made a turn. One little side trip and then he'd make use of that spare passport.

Sam watched Maybourne drive off and shook her head before turning on her heel and hurrying back up the trail.

She arrived back at the drop spot and made her way to the ravine. She looked over the edge and could just barely make out the shape of Makepeace at the base of the ravine wall. At least he hadn't fallen too far down, maybe ten feet. Of course, she had no idea if he was alive or dead.

"Only one way to find out," she said, walking back down the trail a bit to find an area where the ravine wall was a bit easier to climb down. She scrambled down, her boots stirring up a cloud of red dust, jumping down the last few feet. She made her way back to the fallen man and knelt at his side. He was lying in a crumpled heap at the edge of the ravine wall, just barely visible behind some scrub bushes.

She felt for a pulse, shocked when she felt the faint thrum of a heartbeat. His skin was clammy and his respirations were shallow and rough and she knew he was severely injured.

She looked at her watch, trying to figure out if Thor was back in orbit or not. She knew he said it'd be at least two hours, but it had taken a while for Thor to beam her and General Hammond back down. Along with the General speaking to and releasing Colonel Makepeace. Then there was the time he had spent waiting for Maybourne, so in theory Thor should be back. But was he paying attention?

She pulled the device out of her jacket pocket and held it up, turning it to see if there was any sort of button or way to open communication. "Thor?" she said, finding nothing but a smooth surface. "Thor, we need some help here."

She looked around, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do. She didn't have her phone or her weapon, and since Thor had beamed her down outside the mountain she hadn't had a chance to get either item. So she had no way to call for help. "But you do," she whispered, remembering the phone she had seen the colonel take the battery out of as he drove to the drop site. She started to dig in his pockets, trying to remember which one she had seen him stick his keys into when he stirred. "Colonel?" His eyes sluggishly opened and he blinked so slowly she honestly didn't know if he was even aware. "Colonel, I need your keys," she said, twisting her hand around to try and get into his pants pocket. "I need to call for help."

"Car—"

"Yeah, you just hang on," she said.

"Can't feel," he muttered.

"Not surprised, you took a bit of a tumble." She did her best to keep her voice light and not show the alarm she felt. "I'm gonna get your keys then I'll need to leave you to get back to your truck," she said.

"Don't leave."

"Colonel, I'm not going to have—" There was a flash of white and she found herself kneeling on the deck of an Asgard ship, Makepeace in front of her.

"Major Carter, do you require assistance?" Thor padded over to her.

"Thor." She got to her feet. "He's been shot. He needs help. Can you beam him down to the SGC infirmary?"

There was another flash of light and Colonel Makepeace disappeared. "The damage is significant," he said. "It is likely beyond the ability of your medical facility to repair. I shall attempt to treat him with our own facilities."

"That's very generous of you Thor, thanks. I couldn't keep following Colonel Maybourne, do you know where he is?"

"If you speak of the vehicle that was at your location, I can discern where it is at present." He moved towards a console and moved some of the control stones. A screen flickered to life and Sam watched the small dot representing Maybourne's car travel down the streets of Colorado Springs. After a few minutes, the car stopped and she saw a figure get out of it, walking down a street.

"Can you beam me down somewhere close but out of sight?" she asked.

"I can, however would you prefer me to assist you in apprehending this man?" he offered.

Sam shook her head and picked up the Tiernod device. "Maybe he's meeting his contact."

Jack unlocked his front door and walked inside, making his way across the darkened room to the lamp. He snapped it on and went into the kitchen, grabbing a beer out of the fridge before returning to the livingroom. He dropped down in his favorite chair, twisting the cap off and tossing onto the side table. Damn, what a crappy day. A crappy, long day. He was seriously getting too old for this…stuff.

Movement caught his eye and he turned his head, his stomach sinking as a familiar figure walked into the room. "People are lookin for you," he said, trying to get a read on Maybourne's mood.

"Thanks to you," Harry said, raising his handgun and aiming it at Jack.

Jack shrugged, Maybourne just had to be a sore loser. His fingers tightened around his bottle of beer. It was a pathetic weapon but the only thing he had. "Just doing my job."

"You have no idea what you've done," Harry said. "You think these aliens you're sucking up to are going to give a damn about you or this planet?"

Jack sighed. "Maybourne, if you're gonna shoot me, just do it. I want preaching I'll go to church." He saw Harry's finger tighten on the trigger and Jack readied himself, gambling that he could take him. In a half second that lasted forever, he threw the bottle at Harry just as the man squeezed the trigger. The beer bottle shattered as Jack threw himself to the side. Harry inexplicably jerked to the right, his weapon flying from his hand as he hit the floor. Not sure what was going on but not questioning the situation, Jack dove for the weapon, his fingers wrapping around the grip as he saw Harry's head abruptly jerk before he went limp. Jack stepped back, cocking and aiming the pistol in Harry's general direction.

"Don't shoot me," a very familiar voice said. Jack stared as Sam shimmered into existence. She was kneeling over Maybourne, her knee on his back while her hands fumbled to remove the webbing belt of her BDUs. A vaguely familiar item was on the floor beside her.

"Not that I'm sorry to see you, but what are you doing here?" he asked as she rolled Harry over, cinching the belt tight over his wrists.

"I started following Colonel Makepeace but Maybourne shot him. So I thought I'd follow Maybourne to whoever he's answering to but he came here." She finished tying his hands and got to her feet. "I guess getting revenge on you was more important than running," she said, glancing down as she flexed her bruised hand.

"Great," Jack said. He picked up his phone, dialing Hammond's personal number. "Sir, we need a containment and recovery team," he said as soon as the man answered. "I have Maybourne here at my place, along with Carter."

Jack nodded and relayed the information to Hammond the ended the call. "They'll be here in twenty," he said. "Makepeace?"

"He's up on Thor's ship last I knew. It was pretty bad."

"If he pulls through it'll be interesting to see how he handles the aliens he hates so much saving his six," he said. He nodded towards Maybourne. "I hate to tell ya, but we already knew he was involved. He's the one that recruited me."

She shrugged. "He does have a rental a couple of blocks away. There might be something in there that leads to his employer."

Jack bent over and picked up the Asgard device. "So Thor let you play with his toys?"

She shrugged. "As long as I promised I wouldn't even think about cracking the case to see how it worked."

Jack set it down on the table. "Yeah, he is a bit touchy about that."

She smiled slightly. "Not that I'd understand the insides anyway. The form is impossible to recreate…" He looked at her and she shrugged. "The function however…."

A flash of light interrupted her and Jack blinked as Thor beamed into his living room. "Greetings, O'Neill, Major Carter." He looked curiously at the bound figure. "It appears that you have been successful in apprehending the perpetrator."

Jack shrugged. "Kinda. I already knew he was involved."

"But he might have information that can lead us to others," Sam said.

Thor nodded, " You have faithfully executed the task we have put before you. The Asgard and Tollan have no further requests. Would you like me to transport this man to the SGC facility?"

Jack shook his head. "Thanks but there's a team on the way."

"As you wish." He held out his hand. "I shall retrieve the Tiernod device and return it to the people that depend upon it."

"It's a sweet toy," Jack said, picking up the device and handing it over to Thor. "If you ever decide to share…."

Thor took it and blinked. "I do not believe that will be necessary. I have every confidence that Major Carter may create a device similar in function…eventually." Thor nodded and beamed back to his ship.

"D'oh."

"I always knew Maybourne was an idiot," Daniel said, sitting back on Jack's couch.

"Every day of the week," Sam quipped, taking a large bit of the pizza. "You had to be there," she said to their puzzled looks.

"What of Colonel Maybourne's fate?" Teal'c asked.

"Buried in a deep dark hole in Leavenworth," Jack said, leaning back in his chair as he took a drink. He ignored the fact that the carpet still smelled vaguely of spilled beer. The recovery team arrived just moments after Thor left and they made it back at the SGC to find Thor had said his farewells to General Hammond, along with beaming Makepeace down to the infirmary before leaving orbit.

Tedious briefings took up the next several hours and, sometime around 0300, General Hammond declared that everyone needed to just go home. About twelve hours later the members of SG-1 found themselves gathering at Jack's house, taking some time to reconnect and catch up.

"Makepeace?" Daniel asked.

"He'll join him as soon as Frasier says he's fit to travel. Sergeant Wilkins is already there," Jack said, listing the third member of their conspiracy.

"I keep wondering if more people will be implicated," Sam said. "I know if Wilkins hadn't have taken it upon himself to call and warn Maybourne that you were back, we'd probably never know he was involved."

"We knew there had to be at least two people inside the SGC," Jack said. "Once Thor and Travelle gave us the dates of the thefts, Hammond and I ran mission logs. There was no single team off world for all the thefts."

"And given the number of teams we have, four people per team…" Daniel shrugged. "It could have been any one of dozens of people."

"Exactly," Jack said. "And that's presuming we didn't have whole teams in on it that took a little side trip without the SGC knowing about it. That was part of what I was supposed to find out, who was pulling the strings and how they were making it work. Maybourne used his connections to get information as to what team was scheduled to be where and then had Newman plant the small devices on those worlds."

"A team leader has access to such information," Teal'c said.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I can tell you who's gonna be where and why….usually it's just so much trivia."

"Except in cases like our breakout from Hedantes where we met up with SG-9 and used their GDO to get home," Sam said.

"That's why we know. Except in this case, Makepeace was giving the info to Wilkins, who was getting it to Maybourne – even though he only knew him as a voice on the other end of the phone. What Makepeace and Wilkins didn't know was that Maybourne was having both of them pick up tech and drop it at the dead drop." He tipped his beer towards Sam. "When you blew the whistle on Makepeace, he knew he needed to run. Wilkins still had no idea what was going on until he saw me come back with the rogues."

"He called Maybourne to warn him, and instead of running Maybourne decided to get rid of the one person that could implicate him," Daniel said.

"Given the false identities that we've uncovered, he probably would have made it," Sam said. "They were looking for Colonel Harry Maybourne, not Ed Johnson, a dentist from Seattle. That's how his travel slipped under the radar. He used that identity and probably others to charter planes from Las Vegas to here on a regular basis."

"And the rental car?" Daniel asked.

"That too. Someone with money was bankrolling him. We figure he flew back here at least once a week, sometimes more."

"From what Wilkins said, sometimes they'd sit on the tech for a few days before they dropped it," Jack said, relaying part of the interrogation he'd listened in on.

"I'd imagine if he had something from both Makepeace and Wilkins he'd just set up two drops in one day. There was plenty of cover around there. Or really, he could have just hung out at trail head. He had the advantage, he knew what they looked like, they had no idea who he was," Sam said. "What I don't get is….he was less than 12 hours from Mexico. If he'd have kept going, he would have made it to the border."

"And probably across, "Jack said. "Border Patrol is usually more worried about who's trying to come north, not go south."

"Have you learned from whom was the hataka receiving his orders?" Teal'c asked.

Jack grimaced. "We ran the phone from the car. The only non SGC number in there was the office number of a certain senator we all know and love," he said, taking a drink of his beer.

"Kinsey? Seriously?" Daniel asked. "So we got him?"

Jack shook his head again. "Kinsey's OFFICE," he clarified. "Circumstantial at best."

"Kinsey will just plead no knowledge and throw some staffer under the bus," Sam said.

"So it's a dead end?" Daniel asked.

"Didn't say that," Jack said. "He's under surveillance. And with his ego and supreme sense of self-righteousness, it's just a matter of time before he fries himself."

"So what now?" Daniel asked.

"We have the next week off," Jack said. "Let the dust settle. There will be some further investigations into the SGC personnel, just to make sure we got everyone. Then Hammond's going to call one giant meeting."

"He will inform the other SGC personnel of your and Major Carter's missions?" Teal'c asked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, and who the real bad guys are. Then he's going to lay down the law."

"Play by his rules or play in another sandbox," Sam said.

"There'll be a few transfers," Jack said. "Just between us, it's still up in the air if the rest of SG-3 gets to stay or if they all get reassed."

"That's not very fair to the rest, if they didn't know what Makepeace was up to," Daniel said.

"Is there a concern of repercussions?" Teal'c asked.

Jack nodded. "Hammond's going to be sitting down and having a serious heart to heart with them. It's possible they didn't know what their CO was up to—"

"Wouldn't be the only ones," Daniel said under his breath and earning a glare from Jack.

"It's also possible they turned a blind eye," Jack continued. "There's a good chance, even if they stay, they'll be broken up."

"What if they knew but were afraid to say anything?" Daniel asked.

"Doesn't work that way, Daniel," Sam said. "You're honor bound to speak up."

"As you did when you attempted to inform General Hammond of the contents of Makepeace's locker," Teal'c said.

"The catch is, you damn well better be right," Jack said.

"What would you have done if you'd been wrong?" Daniel asked.

"Grovel?" she said flippantly, then shrugged. "Honestly, Daniel, I probably would have been off the team. If he was in a really bad mood, Makepeace could have tried to bring me up on charges."

"They wouldn't have stuck," Jack said. "In any case, you weren't wrong. And I'm sure Hammond would have backed you."

"Something about it just didn't look right," she said. "Maybe I spent too much time on the Beliskner."

"Many forms of alien technology can give a visual reference as to whom it belongs."

The conversation paused and Jack took a drink of his warming beer, contemplating getting up and taking the empty pizza boxes out to the trash. "So now what happens?" Daniel asked.

"What do you want to happen?" Jack asked, not really minding that the topic had been broached. The turmoil at the SGC only mirrored the turmoil in his team. There had been a lot of lies in the past few weeks. And those lies had taken their toll on SG-1 and the trust they needed to do their job – and survive their job.

"Jack?"

"Look, Daniel, I did my job. I can't say that I liked doing it, but the stakes were too high."

"Yeah, I get it," Daniel said. "You were a jackass and I know why and that's fine. It's just…so, we take a week off, and we go back and it's just business as usual?"

Jack shrugged. "Got a problem with that?"

"I find the prospect most appealing," Teal'c said.

"I'd love it if things just got back to normal," Sam said.

"Normal normal or SG-1 normal?" Daniel asked.

"I'll take any normal where Maybourne isn't trying to murder me in my living room," Jack said.

"I'll drink to that," Sam said and the rest echoed her sentiments.

~Fin~


End file.
